Does gait speed contribute to sarcopenia case-finding in a postacute rehabilitation setting?

Abstract Objective The European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) has developed an algorithm based on gait speed measurement to begin sarcopenia case-finding in clinical practice, in which a cut-off point of Methods One hundred in-patients (aged 84.1 SD 8.5, 62% women) were prospectively studied in a postacute care geriatric unit focused on rehabilitation. Sarcopenia was assessed by corporal composition (electrical bioimpedance), handgrip strength, and physical performance (gait speed). Other measurements were Charlson index, length of stay, and functional gain at discharge and 3-month follow-up. All patients were screened by the EWGSOP algorithm and sarcopenia was confirmed according to diagnostic criteria. Results Gait speed was p  = 0.042) and 3-month follow-up (48.3 vs. 59.8, p  = 0.047). Conclusion The application of the EWGSOP algorithm in hospitalised, postacute, elderly patients with low gait speed suggested that muscle strength should be considered before confirming or discarding a sarcopenia diagnosis.